NAMCO Block

Renovation of a Historic Housing Complex

This project involved the rehabilitation of an 85,000 sf multi family housing project on the National Register of Historic Places in downtown Windsor, VT.  The NAMCO Block was constructed in 1920 as worker housing for the nearby NAMCO manufacturing company.  It is a four story brick apartment complex that was composed of 72 apartments in nine attached buildings on the Connecticut River.  Over time, poor building management and increased crime led to plummeting public perception and the building became nearly uninhabitable.

The new owners envisioned a safe, healthy, mixed income “community within a community”.  The renovations completely reconfigured the existing apartments – adding community space, creating secure entrances, adding an elevator and walkway system, and reducing the building’s density from 72 to 58.  Massing and materials of the new construction (bridges, stairs, and elevator tower) acknowledge but do not copy the existing massing, texture, and detailing of the original buildings.

The design converted the apartments from low income to mixed income, restored the rich detailing of the exterior, reduced energy usage 60-70%, created two small pocket parks, and added a children’s play area.